Right now, as for so many, I should be out working. Alas that isn't the case and may not be for some time. Of course this brings great uncertainty and both our health and finances may be affected. The lockdown, for a short period at least, does seem a sensible response and good to see the population as a whole taking heed of the government advice.Here in Ambleside the streets have been deserted for a couple of weeks now. Sad to see as we are now in the Easter holiday, but it's the right thing. A typical Easter scene here would be of near chaos, with the roads, cafes, shops and restaurants all bursting with happy visitors. I'm sure it's a scene all areas are witnessing right now. Feels extremely odd.

However, we are all still allowed out for some daily exercise and I urge you all to take it. Getting out of the house is not only good for our physical well-being, but also our mental well-being. It can provide the time to think, to clear the air, to explore new beginnings and future paths. Or for some, it will be a time to completely switch off and think of nothing at all.

Thankfully, here in Ambleside, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by mountains. So keeping fit is fairly easy and the mountains are motivating. Personally I've been doing lots of running and mountain biking. My mountain bike being resurrected after a 10 year hiatus, so has needed some dusting off! Yesterday the 3 of us took a leisurely walk over Loughrigg. We used to walk together all the time, but rarely do so these days, it was wonderful. It will likely happen more frequently now. The fairly gentle slopes up to the summit and back down to Loughrigg tarn provided just the right amount of activity and we arrived home feeling energised. We have noticed both out on the fells and in the village, birdsong is far more prevalent now. Well, maybe it isn't, but we can hear the birds now as there is virtually no traffic noise and no aircraft.So wherever you may live, whilst doing your daily exercise, take a moment to listen to the wildlife. It is there, it always was, only now we can hear it more clearly. When living in Manchester, I found the canal towpaths particularly good for wildlife spotting. Worth checking out for those in a more urban setting.

The news media and social media both being on overdrive with constantly saddening news and debate regarding the Coronavirus, we have been feeling it very necessary to run away for a while. We are pretty lucky to be able to get into the mountains with minimal travel (and often no travel). Also somewhat unlucky as a Sole trader the government have so far offered no support. There are something like 5 million self employed workers in the UK. That's a lot of people missing out on essential support. Come on Boris!

Anyway, this isn't meant to be a rant, so back to Bowfell and good moments.We set off from The Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale with our sights on Bowfell. We ticked off The Band then turned right onto The Climbers traverse path. This still had large chunks of compacted snow, so care was required. We reached The Great Slab, my plan had been to drink some fresh water from The Great Spout at this point. However, it was really cold and I wasn't even slightly thirsty, so gave that a miss. We blasted up the central section of the slab in order to avoid the snow, and all too soon we were at the top. The wind was howling and biting into us, this was no place to hang around. So we skipped the summit and bailed straight down to Three Tarns where a little more shelter could be enjoyed. A quick peak over to the Scafell range before a rapid descent down The Band into the valley.

The main paths were quite busy today, but for much of our route we enjoyed solitude and sublime views.

As is often the case during springtime here in the Lakes, there's been a spell of magnificent weather. Cool, fairly calm, and sunny almost every day. When the skies are clear and the temps are just nudging into double figures there honestly is nowhere on the planet I'd rather be than here in the Lake District. It is truly magical. Yes we are lucky to live and work here and most definitely cherish this. Being able to share the best of the Lakes with our guests and fellow outdoor lovers is an absolute pleasure and privilege.

This week has been busy, a mix of refreshing venues after a winter spent abroad, and lots of folk to take out into the fells and onto the crags.A visit to Raven crag in Langdale is also top of my list at this time of year. It's a valley crag, gets loads of sun, is quick drying, is easy to get to, and is packed with brilliant climbs. Me & Anna climbed Original route (S) which was great fun. There were plenty of climbers out enjoying the Stella conditions too. I hadn't had chance to check out the descent route post rockfall, so today was a good opportunity to do so. The amount of rock to have fallen was bigger than I had expected, truly massive in fact! But thankfully the descent route has not really been altered at all, not technically anyway.

Another day out on the rock with fellow instructor Si saw us in Borrowdale and that other fine all year valley crag, Shepherds. We cruised through 3 routes, starting with Chamonix (HS), then on to Little Chamonix (VD), and finishing off with Ant Highway (MVS). Whilst not a lot of climbing for an afternoon, the sun was starting to loose its power and chilly fingers were not too far away, so we called it a day, happy with the 3 good quality routes we'd climbed.

If looking for top quality climbing throughout the grade range and want easy access, great views, and great rock, either Raven crag or Shepherds crag fit the bill perfectly. As a bonus, they are in condition very regularly, even during the winter months, just pick a calm, dry day. During the summer they can be wonderfully oven like......sometimes :-)

Mixed in with all this rock action was a fab day of walking with Jason. It's been quite a few years now since getting out in the hills with Jason, so was really nice to catch up and show him an area of the Lakes that was new for him.The plan was Bowfell, but after a further chat on the drive into Langdale, a Langdale Pikes day was sounding far more likely and that's what we opted for. Up to Stickle tarn then onto the summit of Harrison Stickle for magnificent views far and wide. We descended via Thorn crag and the Dungeon Ghyll. A chilly but clear day made for sublime walking conditions, how lucky were we, ace. No Lambs out on the Langdale fells yet, but not going to be long.

A fab week, thanks to Sarah, Jason, Anna, and Si

Mark

Enjoying the classic 'Original Route' on Raven crag, Langdale

Perfect spring conditions for climbing at Raven Crag, Langdale

Enjoying amazing early season conditions at Shepherds crag, Borrowdale

Another perfect day for walking. This is the summit of Harrison Stickle

For part of the Mountain Journeys team (Mark & Don), the scenery has already changed from autumnal Lakeland to the blue skies and warmth of Costa Blanca, Spain. Although we hear the Lake District is continuing to have some rather fine weather and the colours are simply stunning.

Just before the long drive South I was out with Julia, Barbara, Debs, and Vicky for their annual walking weekend in the Lakes. This coincided with some very heavy rain, so our original plan to walk high level routes was set aside for next year. We followed wonderful low level routes from Hawkshead on Saturday and summited Wansfell Pike from Ambleside on Sunday.As the girls were staying in Hawkshead, we chose to walk from there on Saturday. Aiming for Latterbarrow to gain the shores of Windermere we turned South along tree lined tracks for most of the way to Far Sawrey. Here we enjoyed the shelter of the Cuckoo Brow Inn for hot tea and coffees. The fire was roaring so we managed to dry out a little before leg two!Leaving the pub, the rain was still biblical, so we got another properly good soaking, but by now that didn’t matter at all. This walk followed some beautiful scenery and despite most of the paths having turned into streams, we were fully embracing and loving the experience. Moss Eccles and other Tarns were passed on our return route, the sky brightened slightly giving us better views, but still that rain pounded down, it was epic.

Back at Hawkshead more hot drinks flowed and laughter had. A great day J

On Sunday, with a better weather forecast, we ventured a little higher and included Wansfell Pike in the itinerary. Starting from Ambleside we walked through Skellghyll Woods and onto Robin Lane to reach Troutbeck. Stopping for tea and coffees in the village café before we continued via Nanny Lane and up to he summit of Wansfell Pike. Today we were treated to the most amazing views in all directions, fantastic.A quick descent into Ambleside and making sure to visit Stockghyll falls on our way down, brought to an end this weekend of walking.Not a plan A weekend, but a fantastic weekend all the same.

Thanks to Julia, Barbara, Vicky, and Debs – looking forward to next year already.

For Sunday morning I had a Gorge scramble planned with Rachael & Luke. Originally from Australia but now living in London, both were keen for some adventure and trying something new. Once wetsuits were on we headed into Stickle Ghyll and it wasn't long before both were fully submerged in the crystal clear mountain water. Boulder hopping, scrambling, climbing up waterfalls, jumping into plunge pools, and playing at being skydivers all being part of the journey.

Such a pleasure to welcome back Julia, Vicky, Barbara, and Deborah for another weekend of walking here in the Lake District. On Saturday we walked the Buttermere Skyline route. Beginning by the lake and ascending to Red Pike then following the broad ridge to Scarth Gap before going up Haystacks in time for lunch. Next stop was for a brew at Honister slate mines. This was a welcome recharge before the long ascent up to Dale Head. Thankfully the skies were now clear and we were able to marvel at the view into Newlands from the summit. Soon Robinson was also in the bag and we were descending back into Buttermere and a well earned rest.Early rain and hail showers cleared to give us perfect walking conditions and views over the whole of the Lake District and out to the Irish Sea.

With a band of heavy rain and low pressure for Sunday, we opted to stay in the valleys. From Elterwater we followed trails to take us to Skelwith Force, Colwith Force, Hodge Close Quarry, Cathedral Quarry, and back to Elterwater. Making sure to stop for a brew at The 3 Shires Inn, Little Langdale. Personally I regard this route as the finest valley walk in the Lake District. Having walked the route well over a hundred times and still it always feels wonderful to be here and I see new scenes each time.

Over the winter (mid October - March) we will be based in the mountain village of Llosa de Camacho, Valencia. This is the Costa Blanca region of Spain, famed for it's long beaches and almost constant sunshine. Whilst there we are able to offer lots of fun activities in the mountains, check out the Spanish section of the website for more details. We will periodically be back in the UK over the winter and have local guides helping out to keep things running here in the Lakes. So if you're thinking of visiting either areas please do get in touch and we'll do our best to make your stay even better.

I spent a delightful day guiding Howard, Simone, Russell and Penny around the beautiful Coledale Horseshoe on Friday.

The weather was quite changeable with strong winds, clouds, sunshine but luckily no rain! We had plenty of stunning views but also walked in cloud on the summit of Eel Crag (or Crag Hill as Ordnance Survey name it on the maps).

Heather on the path up Grizedale Pike

The walk up Grizedale Pike is a long ascent, steep and rocky in places but we took our time and enjoyed walking through the heather in all its purple glory! On reaching the summit we were hit by very strong winds and found a sheltered spot for a bite of lunch. However, starting off from here on our way to Coledale Hause the wind hit us hard and almost had us off our feet. We sat for a few moments to assess the situation and I thought about turning around and descending back down the way we’d come. In the end, I decided to test the wind again and although it was still strong we soon became sheltered by a shoulder of the mountain and after that the wind hardly bothered us at all!

Our descent off the Coledale Horseshoe via Outerside

We reached the big plateau like summit of Eel Crag/Crag Hill, the highest summit on the Coledale Horseshoe for us today. We didn’t linger long as there were no views because of the cloud. The next summit of Sail was quickly reached, then on to Outerside and finally back down to the pretty village of Braithwaite where our walk has started. The sun was shining by now and we finished the day off with a welcome drink in the garden at the Coledale Inn.